The Rising Dark

The Charndras #1

by Elorin Leighton Grey

For many years, the Seven Realms has been a peaceful land under one High King. A place untroubled by sorcery, in which the farmers of Heseldorn tend their fields, the warriors of Thaeonasta guard the pass to the Northern wastes, and the fellstalkers of Pendren continue their solitary wanderings on the wild fells. But it is also a land in which men touch iron ere they speak of elves, and the age-old alliance between the dwarves of the Grey Mountains and the men of Morieth has foundered in enmity and mistrust.

Now King Praeledin is lost, a usurper sits on the throne of Arumet, and savage kralg overwhelm the land, murdering all in their path. If the Seven Realms is to be saved, a small company must battle dark magic, bloodthirsty pursuers, and their own age-old prejudices to find their lost King.

This is a story of loyalty, friendship, sacrifice and love, for adult readers who enjoy Heroic Fantasy. The Rising Dark is the first book of The Charndras trilogy.

Genres: Fantasy

624 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2002

Reviews

[Ursa · Rating 4 out of 5]

All in all, this book is enjoyable. The pace is a little slow at first. The scenery description is mostly rich and beautiful but lengthy at times, making it too easy to skip a few pages if you're not a patient reader. But it got better along the way and got me hooked all the same. While the plot is well constructed and the mysteries are steadily built up, the characters are what has drawn me in. They're an allegiance of fascinating individuals: men, elves, dwarves and half-man-half-elf. They are flawed by all means, but at the same time, full of compassion and chivalry. Based on their different origins, their initial interaction often consists of conflicts but the tension is quickly dissolved and transformed through companionship. The dialogues, for the most part, are witty and fluid, if not information-driven sometimes. There are only a handful of battle scenes but they're all swift and engaging. Although I wish for more action, this doesn't affect the story in any major way.

The book contains homosexual romance which is mostly hinted or disguised as friendship. I myself rather enjoy the subtlety since, for once, it makes the feeling more genuine and endearing without the characters being irritably needy or cheesy (which unfortunately happens a lot in gay fiction). Besides, it is safe to say they're all PG-13 materials. Nothing graphic or explicit.

While the protagonists are strong and well-drawn, the antagonists seem less appealing, except for one of the villains, who turns out to be mostly misunderstood and misguided. The rest of them feel lacking in term of depth and complexity. Then again, this is just the first installment of the trilogy; not all of the bad guys have made their entrance yet. We readers can always expect for more in the later books.

On a side note, I regret reading this book late at night and ended up not having enough sleep by the morning. So, don't start this book too close to bed time.

[Samantha Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like Lord of the rings and fairy tales read this

Good book took me forever tho.
But if you like medieval and fairytale stories give it a go you will be suprised